Endocrine disruption in a marine amphipod? Field observations of intersexuality and de-masculinisation

Intersexuality has been found in both males and females of the marine/estuarine amphipod, Echinogammarus marinus, at polluted and reference sites in East Scotland. Polluted sites had significantly more intersex specimens than reference sites, however the cause of intersexuality is unclear. Discriminant analysis of morphometric data showed that normal male specimens from the most polluted site resembled pooled intersex males, suggesting that subtle endocrine disruption (ED) maybe occurring in these otherwise apparently normal males. The main discriminating character was gnathopod size, recognised to be under androgenic gland control. The association of distinctive morphometry with intersexuality may provide a new approach to biomarkers of ED in crustaceans. The opportunities for other novel biomarkers, for example biochemical or behavioural markers, may also be explored through study of intersex animals.     

气象探空测风软件系统的标准化研究

高空气象观测是气象业务的基础，是天气预报、气候分析、科学研究和国际交换的气象情报和资料的主要来源。气象探空测风软件是高空气象站探空测风综合探测系统的重要组成部分，它包括了一系列严密的处理方法，同时又融汇了日益发展的计算机处理技术，其规范化、标准化程度直接影响着新一代探空系统效益的发挥。该文介绍了高空气象台站探空测风标准化软件系统的设计思路，重点在软件需求、系统结构、实现技术等方面进行阐述，旨在设计出适合于各种高空探测系统，方便实用的“标准化”探空测风软件，为进一步的软件开发工作奠定坚实的基础。     

MICAPS中英文安装程序的制作和使用

气象信息综合分析处理系统（英文编写为MICAPS）是中国气象局9210的一个子.经负责业务气象资料的处理和显示，是业务预报员的基本工作平台。MICAPS系统分为工作站版和微机版，其中微机版应用于全国省、地、县三级气象台站。为此，MICAPS系统开发组首先开发了MICAPS系统中文版安装程序。随着MICAPS系统应用范围的扩大，MICAPS系统开发组又开发了MICAPS系统英文版安装程序。文章着重介绍目前国内广泛使用的中文版安装的使用方法和技巧，并对MICAPS系统中英文安装程序所使用两种开发软件的特性做出简要比较，旨在使MICAPS用户对MICAPS系统安装程序有一深入的了解，同时对从事安装程序制作的开发人员有一定的帮助和借鉴作用。     

Condensation and vaporization studies of CH3OH and NH3 ices: major implications for astrochemistry

In an extension of previously reported work on ices containing H2O, CO, CO2, SO2, H2S, and H2, we present measurements of the physical and infrared spectral properties of ices containing CH3OH and NH3. The condensation and sublimation behavior of these ice systems is discussed and surface binding energies are presented for all of these molecules. The surface binding energies can be used to calculate the residence times of the molecules on grain surfaces as a function of temperature. It is demonstrated that many of the molecules used to generate radio maps of and probe conditions in dense clouds, for example CO and NH3, will be significantly depleted from the gas phase by condensation onto dust grains. Attempts to derive total column densities solely from radio maps that do not take condensation effects into account may vastly underestimate the true column densities of any given species. Simple CO condensation onto and vaporization off of grains appears to be capable of explaining the observed depletion of gas phase CO in cold, dense molecular cores. This is not the case for NH3, however, where thermal considerations alone predict that all of the NH3 should be condensed onto grains. The fact that some gas phase NH3 is observed indicates that additional desorption processes must be involved. The surface binding energies of CH3OH, in conjunction with this molecule's observed behavior during warm up in H2O-rich ices, is shown to provide an explanation of the large excess of CH3OH seen in many warm, dense molecular cores. The near-infrared spectrum and associated integrated band strengths of CH3OH-containing ice are given, as are middle infrared absorption band strengths for both CH3OH and NH3.     

Detection of the 2165 inverse centimeter (4.619 micron) XCN band in the spectrum of L1551 IRS 5

We report the detection of a broad absorption band at 2165 cm-1 (4.619 microns) in the spectrum of L1551 IRS 5. New laboratory results over the 2200-2100 cm-1 wavenumber interval (4.55-4.76 microns), performed with realistic interstellar ice analogs, suggest that this feature is due to a CN-containing compound. We will refer to this compound as XCN. We also confirm the presence of frozen CO (both in nonpolar and polar matrices) through absorption bands at 2140 cm-1 (4.67 microns) and 2135 cm-1 (4.68 microns). The relative abundance of solid-state CO to frozen H2O is approximately 0.13 while the abundance of XCN seems comparable to that of frozen CO.     

Adjoint simulation of stream depletion due to aquifer pumping

If an aquifer is hydraulically connected to an adjacent stream, a pumping well operating in the aquifer will draw some water from aquifer storage and some water from the stream, causing stream depletion. Several analytical, semi-analytical, and numerical approaches have been developed to estimate stream depletion due to pumping. These approaches are effective if the well location is known. If a new well is to be installed, it may be desirable to install the well at a location where stream depletion is minimal. If several possible locations are considered for the location of a new well, stream depletion would have to be estimated for all possible well locations, which can be computationally inefficient. The adjoint approach for estimating stream depletion is a more efficient alternative because with one simulation of the adjoint model, stream depletion can be estimated for pumping at a well at any location. We derive the adjoint equations for a coupled system with a confined aquifer, an overlying unconfined aquifer, and a river that is hydraulically connected to the unconfined aquifer. We assume that the stage in the river is known, and is independent of the stream depletion, consistent with the assumptions of the MODFLOW river package. We describe how the adjoint equations can be solved using MODFLOW. In an illustrative example, we show that for this scenario, the adjoint approach is as accurate as standard forward numerical simulation methods, and requires substantially less computational effort.     

A subregional-scale method to assess aquifer vulnerability to pesticides

A method to predict aquifer vulnerability to pesticide contamination at the subregional scale was developed. The assessment method was designed to incorporate relevant hydrologic and pesticide-transport information and to use generally available data. The method assumes steady-state advection of pesticides in the vadose zone, including sorption and biological decay. The solution is presented as a vulnerability index (VI) that increases as the aquifer vulnerability increases. The hydrologic input data for the VI model are obtained from the soil survey geographic database. Pesticides were grouped into three leachability classes using a leachability ratio (half-life divided by organic carbon partition coefficient). Pesticide transformation is assumed to occur in the surface layer. The influence of vertical transport in the remainder of the vadose zone has been incorporated by applying a multiplying factor to the VI that varies with depth to ground water. Hydraulic conductivity is used as a surrogate for soil-water velocity for practical purposes. The performance of the VI model is evaluated using ground water data from Weld County, Colorado. The model is demonstrated to be successful at predicting relative vulnerability, defined as the magnitude of pesticide concentration and percent of wells in a unit that exhibit a pesticide detection. Areas of low, medium, and high vulnerability are assigned. Results indicate that the vulnerability classifications are most dependent on the leachability ratio, hydraulic conductivity, and organic carbon content.     

Long-term changes in ground water chemistry at a phytoremediation demonstration site

A field-scale demonstration project was conducted to evaluate the capability of eastern cottonwood trees (Populus deltoides) to attenuate trichloroethene (TCE) contamination of ground water. By the middle of the sixth growing season, trees planted where depth to water was <3 m delivered enough dissolved organic carbon to the underlying aquifer to lower dissolved oxygen concentrations, to create iron-reducing conditions along the plume centerline and sulfate-reducing or methanogenic conditions in localized areas, and to initiate in situ reductive dechlorination of TCE. Apparent biodegradation rate constants for TCE along the centerline of the plume beneath the phytoremediation system increased from 0.0002/d to 0.02/d during the first six growing seasons. The corresponding increase in natural attenuation capacity of the aquifer along the plume centerline, from 0.0004/m to 0.024/m, is associated with a potential decrease in plume-stabilization distance from 9680 to 160 m. Demonstration results provide insight into the amount of vegetation and time that may be needed to achieve cleanup objectives at the field scale.     

Dissolved metal contamination in the East River-Long Island sound system: potential biological effects

A suite of dissolved trace metals (Ag, Cd, Cu and Pb), inorganic nutrients (NO(3), PO(4)), and chlorophyll a was measured along a 55 mile transect from the East River into western and central Long Island Sound. The main objectives of this study were to determine the relative levels of contamination from sewage, and to assess its possible biological impact on local waters. The East River-Long Island Sound system receives large volumes of treated sewage and industrial effluent as a result of the heavy urbanization of the area. Despite these strong environmental pressures, this study is among the first to report dissolved metal levels from that region. Consistent with the locations of anthropogenic sources, a strong east-west concentration gradient was observed for Ag, Pb, NO(3) and PO(4) with the highest levels found in the East River. In contrast, dissolved Cd and Cu were relatively constant throughout the area of study, suggesting that sewage sources have a more limited influence on the levels of those metals. Remobilization from contaminated sediments may represent the primary source of Cd and Cu to the Long Island Sound under low-runoff conditions in summer. Chlorophyll a concentrations, used as an indicator of total biomass, were also low in the East River. These low chlorophyll concentrations could not be explained by nutrient or light limitation, water column stratification, or to advection of phytoplankton out of the river during tidal flushing. These preliminary results suggest a potential toxic effect of sewage on the biological communities of the East River.